Elizabeth Murphy, '85 J.D.

Published: February 27, 2014

Elizabeth Murphy has been named an associate director in its Division of Corporation Finance of The Securities and Exchange Commission.

For the past five years, Ms. Murphy has served as the Secretary of the Commission, heading the office that prepares, reviews, and maintains records of Commission action and advises the Commission and the SEC staff on administrative practices and procedures. From 2000 to 2009, she was the chief of the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of Rulemaking, which plays a leading role in rulemaking projects undertaken by the division.

In her new role, Ms. Murphy will oversee the work of three offices within the division: the Office of Rulemaking, Office of Small Business Policy, and Office of Enforcement Liaision. The Office of Small Business Policy coordinates the division’s activities involving smaller public companies and limited, private, and intrastate securities offerings. The division’s Office of Enforcement Liaison coordinates with the Division of Enforcement on investigative matters, including those involving corporations that are delinquent in filing quarterly, annual, and other reports.

Ms. Murphy first joined the division in 1986 as an attorney-advisor and was promoted to special counsel in 1987. She was made a special counsel in the division’s Office of the Chief Counsel in 1996 and later served as counsel to Commissioner Laura S. Unger. As chief of the division’s Office of Rulemaking, she overaw teams working on numerous rules, including many required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.